PREVIEW: TEXAS TECH VS NEVADA

Couldn't roll me a seven, If you gave me loaded dice. I couldn't draw a hand, If I sat here all night
Scared money bad whiskey, there ain't no way to win

RENO – Doug Supernaw (home of Nevada Wolfpack

Where:  Jones Stadium, Lubbock

When:  6:00pm Central

TV:  Fox College Sports

Weather:  80 clear

Line: -15.5

The Red Raiders wrap-up their non-conference schedule with a night match against the Nevada Wolfpack. Three years ago, this was a dangerous game. Last year this would have been a scary game. This year, it should be another opportunity to play a lot of folks.

Before we get to that, let’s look back two weeks….

Welcome to the record books Seth Doege! Good lord, the man with bionic knees took on the Lobos and the weather in Albuquerque last week and didn’t let them affect the team one bit. He started out the game completing 15 straight passes and finished 40-44 for 401 yards and 5 TDs. It was unreal to watch, even with the 95 minute weather delays.  New Mexico finished with 13 points for the game with 337 yards of total offense, lots of it in garbage time. Would have liked to see under 250, but will take the points, three sacks and INT. Nice work.

Now its time for the Wolfpack to come to Lubbock and see if Tech can the streak that the Raiders have been on since the start of the second half against Texas State. I think everyone is getting excited about what they are seeing, but being Tech fans, everyone is still skeptical.

Nevada had an amazing run under their last QB, Colin Kaepernick who ran the pistol based offense to a 13-1 record in 2010, with a nice bowl win. And when Tech made the trip to Reno in 2008 it was a nip and tuck battle and was closer than the 35-19 final score showed.

But Kaepernick is now with the 49ers waiting for the real Alex Smith to combeback and the Wolfpack is back to square one.  The AD for Nevada must either be broke or not like their coach, because these poor SOBs have four games on the road to open the season against Oregon, San Jose State, Tech and Boise State. They are praying to come out of this with a 2-2 record, but after surviving a 17-14 game against lowly San Jose State 1-3 is looking more realistic.

Their new QB is Tyler Lantrip and to say he’s struggling would be an understatement. He has 4 INTS on the year and one TD for 331 yards. On the ground, Mike Ball seems to be the main focus as he’s  got over 220 yards rushing total and averaging 5.2 yards a carry.

 So based on their only true test so far against Oregon, they gave up 69 points and 600 yards of offense to the Ducks. Tech’s offense is not at the same level as Oregon, but it should be another field day.

BEST GUESS

TECH      56

Nev        24

FUN WITH NUMBERS

90.9 – Doege’s completion percentage against New Mexico

339-4 – yards receiving and TDs for Darrin Moore in two games this season

64 – games in a row Tech has thrown for at least one TD

GUNS UP!

PREVIEW: TEXAS TECH VS NEW MEXICO

Who's feeling sorry now? Just when I thought I knew how the man with the master plan I let it all slip through my hands. – LOS LOBOS (couldn’t just cut and paste La Bamba)

Where: Albuquerque, NM

When: 2:30 Central

TV: Versus (or NBC Sports or whatever they are calling it)

Weather:  78 sunny

Line: -21

There aren’t too many songs from hair bands that I can pull lyrics from that you all will enjoy so I’ll default to Los Lobos as recognition of New Mexico’s mascot. And if you look at the Head Coach’s record, well that master plan is damn sure slipping through their hands.

Before we get to that, let’s look back two weeks….

Tech opened the season at home playing a Texas State Bobcat team that is transitioning to D1 and with a new head coach in Coach Fran. The first half was just god awful, no matter how you look at it for Tech. The defense was getting shredded, not in big plays, but in consistent 5 and 7 yard plays and could not get off the field. The offense looked anemic (yes I spell checked that) and could not muster any rhythm let alone points. At half, it was TSU 10, the mighty Red Raiders 9.

Second half the Raiders showed up and just whooped the Bobcats. Final score was a 50-10 drubbing, so I really don’t know what to take out of this. Tech did what they were supposed to do against a very inferior team. Nuff said.

So this week, Tuberville takes the team on the road for their first “test” against a D1 team. This should be the same outcome, hopefully a better first half, but Tech’s depth and talent should prevail.

In case you don’t bet for entertainment’s sake only, New Mexico has been a team you can pretty much ride all year. Since Mike Locksley took over this program, they are 2-24. That’s right, two wins and he still has a job. They are usually dogs by more than 20 points and lose in amazing fashion. They’ve played two games so far, held their own against a bad Colorado State team and got killed by Arkansas. Their offensive leaders are QB Tauren Austin who has an amazing 350 yards passing in two games. He also is ranked as their 2^nd best rusher with 88 yards. Their defense is so bad, their communications department celebrated their first interception of the year in their weekly release.

Tech is playing at ton of young kids, 8 true freshmen played against Texas State, so big plays for the Lobos is always a possibility, but this should be over by half.

BEST GUESS

TECH      49

Unm      17

FUN WITH NUMBERS

9 – number of players the Lobos have in the NFL

52-17 – score of the game last year at New Mexico

43 – number of times these two non-conference teams have met.

GUNS UP!

Preview TEXAS TECH VS TEXAS STATE

What exactly is in store for this season? Shooting for 8 wins is looking good.

I’m going through changes. I’m going through changes. - Black Sabbath

Where: Lubbock, TX

When: 6 PM

TV: online only

Weather: 92, clear

Line: n/a

Well I’m pretty sure Ozzy wasn’t signing about the Big 12 conference when he wrote that song, but wow, another year another changing of the lineup and where this merrygoround will stop, lord only knows. Red Raiders fans are hoping that we end up somewhere good whether that’s in what hybrid SWC/Big 12 conference comes out, of maybe Tuberville has some really good connections left in the SEC but that’s probably not going to happen. Guess we can only sit back and like the other non-powerhouse schools (aka OU and UT) wait to see what our fate is.

But at least we have football starting this weekend. In fact as I’m writing this there are games a plenty going on and its great to be back focused on what will actually happen on the field and not in Deloss Dodd’s office or a conference room in Bristol, CT.

So what do we have for the Red Raiders this year? A couple of key changes in personnel, coaches and strategy that’s what. Let’s tackle a few.

4-2-5

Nope that’s not Aggies trying to count, it’s the new defensive scheme that Chad Glasgow is brining to the Hub City from TCU. The guy spent 10 years helping turned the Horned Frogs into one of the best defenses nationally and Tech is hoping that some of that will transfer out west and result in some improvement from a defense that ranked somewhere north of 110 in the FBS schools. If tradition holds, he’s going to look at speed, speed and more speed and put people on the field that will flat out fly to the ball. Interesting that part of what drove this large shift nationally to the 4-2-5 is the success of Tech’s offense during the Leach years that spread the ball from sideline to sideline and turned the Big 12 offensive mindset from 3 yards and a cloud of dust to AIR RAID type offenses.

DOEGE

If you’re going to have to start over at quarterback, well I guess its nice to have a Junior who has been with the program three years backing up a few pretty decent quarterbacks. Biggest concern here is that he really hasn’t done anything since his sophomore year in high school, that’s right high school. Due to blowing out his knees in his junior and senior season. So really the last time he played was against powerhouse 4A programs like Hereford and Dumas (not UT and OU).

11 RETURNING STARTERS

Now it is easy to be disappointed with last season, but 8 wins is still 8 wins. And now Tech only has 11 returners across the board. That might be mixed blessing, but still it gets pretty damn scary when that’s all you got. The good news is that most of these returners are across the O-line which is key. Defense is light on returners but after ranking 114^th and helping your coach lose his job, that’s a-ok.

Texas State

The Bobcats are starting a transition year as an independent before jumping into the WAC next year. God help us if this is a preview on future conference matchups for Tech. Good ole Coach Fran is making a return to Lubbock as the new Head Coach of Texas State (wondering if Cindy Crawford is their kicker like in Necessary Roughness). Really not too concerned about Coach Fran and his team. He has yet to name a starting QB, he’s just installed a spread offense and what do you know, they are also changing to the 4-2-5 defense.

I’m not going to really look into this much further because if we hear any of the Bobcats names enough, then things have gone downhill fast.

PREDICTION

Tech 57

Texas St 20

FUN WITH NUMBERS

60 – Average points Tech has put up against FCS schools since 2005

950 – Number of games Tech will have played after Saturday in its 87th year

0 – Number of cans of beer you can have the next time you float the Guadalupe near Texas St campus

GUNS UP!